Changing Waters (Revised)
by Batfan3
Summary: The line between past, present and future is made of words, memories and actions that cannot be taken back, the past is something we run from, the present we run to, and the future...we fear. Scarlet is running from her past and towards her present: Gotham. But as we all know, the past always catches up... Revised Changing Waters. Rated T for language and violence
1. Chapter 1

**Long time no see everyone. Now before you kill me for taking so freaking long this is the revised version of my original Changing Waters. This story has grown so much with me over the years and every revision gets a million times better. This is the best one yet and the final version. I have the completed form and will update as often as possible.**

 **Without further adu...enjoy!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

"AAAAHHH!" Screaming rang through the metal halls, reverberating off the walls. A small girl bolted down the hall, her feet making loud slapping noises on the floor. Her hair was long and wavy, a dirty blond, her wide, frightened eyes were the color of jade. She was young, only ten years old. She disappeared around the corner.

Moments later, a second girl ran through, though unlike the first, her feet made no sound. She had pixie cut hair that was black as pitch and her eyes were a stunning sugar grey. Pure determination shone in those piercing eyes.

"ANDY MADISON GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" A shout rang out.

The girl stopped, grimacing at the noise. She grumbled words no ten year old should know under her breath, but walked into the kitchen three doors down.

A tall blonde girl stood there with her hands on her hips, a pan full of brown liquid bubbled on the stove. Her eyes were light grey, almost blue and her long hair blonde was pulled up in a ponytail. She was well muscled, but slim. Laying on the counter a few yards away was a big green compound bow.

The girl who had been screaming peeked out from behind the the tall girl's back. "Say again what she did Kira," the blonde said.

Kira glared at Andy. "She said she was gonna rip my lungs out."

"I regret nothing," Andy said, crossing her arms.

The blonde, whose name was Artemis Crock, rolled her eyes, sighing. "Just apologize and I won't tell Scarlet."

"Tell me what?" A voice asked.

At that moment, three more people entered, two boys and a girl. One boy was tall with wavy dirty blond hair and evergreen eyes, he had one arm around the girl, his free hand holding a lance made of ice. The other boy was a giant mass of muscle, his skin had a darker tone to it, his eyes were chocolate brown, with military cut hair of the same color.

The girl was short, probably about 5, 2", but lithe as a tiger. Her skin was darkly tanned and her hair was red as blood, reaching all the way to mid thigh as extreme as the crystal blue eyes that swept the room. A black katana was strapped to her back. She was the one who'd spoken.

Artemis and Kira explained the situation, but Andy remained silent.

Scarlet walked over to the stove, took a whiff of the brown liquid, then wrinkled her nose. "Is that even edible?" she asked.

"Are you even listening?" Artemis asked in exasperation.

She looked over. "Hmm? Oh, oh yeah. Andy apologize, Kira don't be a whiny tattletale."

The green-eyed boy laughed. "You don't have to be so flippant."

She smirked. "Of course I do Dean." She rubbed her hands together. "Now, where's that chocolate bar I saw earlier?"

Artemis groaned and Andy smirked. "You're hopeless," the blonde grumbled. She looked to the other boy. "Are you listening to them Donny?"

Donald Reese smiled and shook his head. "Arty, you're wound _way_ to tight."

"Andy," Kira said.

Andy sighed. "Fine. Sorry, I was just kidding anyway."

Kira smiled sweetly and took her hand. "I forgive you, let's go play dolls."

"No," Andy groaned as she was dragged away.

Donny kissed Artemis. "You look frazzled."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ha, last time I get hooked with babysitting duty." She looked at Scarlet. "You hear that Red? You're stuck with them from now on!"

Scarlet rolled her eyes from her position on the couch in the living room. "You wish!" She and Dean were playing a shoot 'em up video game, versus mode.

"Damn it!" Dean cursed as Scarlet sniped him.

She smirked at him, bordering on leering. "I win."

Dean leaned forward an kissed her, her eyes widened, then she punched his arm.

"Weirdo."

He grinned. "Whatever you say Red."

Artemis rolled her eyes. Donny smirked.

"If you're so worked up how about we go to the shooting range," he said, wrapping a thick arm around her shoulders. She pursed her lips, then shrugged.

"If you insist."

"Oh I do."

"Ugh, the amount of flirting in this room is nauseating," Andy said from the doorway. Scarlet laughed. "Oh Andy, you'll get it someday."

Andy wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if I want to."

Kira came in. "I do!"

"That's 'cause you're weird," Andy said.

Kira shrugged. "Who wants to be normal?" she said as a metal chain with a spiked ball flew in from another room and into her hands.

Dean laughed from the other room. "Kira, you know full well there is not a single 'normal' person in this whole base."

A truer statement there never was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two already!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Scarlet**

A girl with long red hair, brown skin and crystal blue eyes sat in the hold of a cargo ship. She was about fourteen years old, small for her age, yet strong and lithe.

She was running. That's all she seemed to be doing these days. Running. She no longer had a safe haven or a place to hide, she no longer had anything. No family, no friends and if things continued as they were, no life.

She lost. She lost everything on that fateful day. One month and a day. It's strange how much you can lose in a mere moment.

The cargo-ship was headed for Gotham. She dreaded returning to her home, but she didn't have much of a choice. That was the only place that _he_ wouldn't look for her. He knew how much she didn't like it there. The site of her worst memories.

She was shaken from her thoughts by footsteps coming down the stairs. She scooted backwards a little, pulling the camouflaged cape tighter around her. A light briefly shown in the corner where she hid, but moved on just as fast.

She let out a slow sigh. She didn't hate Gotham, on the contrary she loved it, it was her _home_. _Was_ , anyway. But not anymore, now it was just a dirty, messed up city that held her worst memories in it's dark shadows.

* * *

Scarlet darted off the ship, ignoring the shouts of surprise and darting into an alley, scrambling up a wall with ease. She roof hopped until she was quite a ways into the city.

First thing on her list was to find a place to stay. There was an abundance of abandoned buildings in Gotham's underbelly. One such building shone brighter in her memory.

It was a broken down movie theater. It had been abandoned for a while and not many people went there, so it was pretty much ripe for the taking.

She sat down on the edge of the stage, looking around. Her eyes traveled to the rafters. She shot a grappler and was pulled up onto a beam. She could get a canvas, use some of the tools and nails lying around, then connect the canvas onto the beams.

"This can work," she told herself. "For now."

She didn't have a ton of stuff, just the necessities. She opened up her backpack, straddling the beam. She had a collapsible bo staff/eskerma sticks, a case of shurikans, four grapplers, six throwing knives (with sheaths), a case of bombs, smoke pellets and various special bombs, a long whip, and, her prize, a beautifully made katana. Courtesy of her former mentor.

A second backpack sat to one side with her suit, extra clothes, toiletries, a disposable phone she bought off the street, and a few other things. Necessities.

She gazed at her suit blankly. It was black, with a red bird on the chest, and red accents on the sides, the utility belt was red too. The boots and gloves were black. Leftover flecks of blood stood out on the dark cloth.

The full weight of her position finally crashed down on her. She squeezed the kevlar enforced fabric so tight that her knuckles were white.

Then the tears came.

Just little ones at first, then heart wrenching sobs shook her entire body.

She scrubbed at her cheeks angrily.

"You're weak," she spat. "And pathetic. Pull yourself together." She wiped away the last of the tears and stuffed the suit back into her backpack.

"I'm never going back. Never." But even as she spoke those words the last thing her former mentor said appeared in her mind.

" _My dear Strike, never is such a long time..."_


	3. Chapter 3

**And already chapter 3!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Red Kite**

Scarlet walked along the street, head down, hoodie pulled low over her face. It was around ten o'clock, it would've been dangerous for anyone in Gotham at this time, everyone but her. Training for seven years by the best martial artist in the world had it's benefits.

A police car zoomed by, siren screaming. She remembered talk in the ship earlier. Something about a big drug trade off at the docks.

She mentally debated wether or not to go. It was something to do. She didn't have anything else today, tomorrow or any other day. She rolled her eyes at herself, but headed back to her new home, grabbing her suit and weapons.

She didn't live too far from the docks so it took three minutes of roof hopping to arrive at on a warehouse. She tapped the domino mask, turning on the infrared vision. She looked around. Two heat signatures on the rooftop two buildings over, probably the Dynamic Dunderheads, fifteen inside the warehouse right across from her.

She smirked.

 _Gotcha._

She watched Batman and Robin for a moment, then quickly went over to the warehouse, staying out of sight and turning off the infrared. She hadn't seen anyone near the side door, so she chose that as her entry point.

"What are we waiting around for?" One of the guys said. "They should 'ave been 'ere by now."

"Oi you shuddup, the boss says we wait for 'dem, so we wait," another said.

The main door opened. Fifteen more people came in.

"Sorry we're late boys, do you have the merchandise?" The leader said.

"Aye we got it," the apparent leader of the other group said. "You got de money?"

"Where's your boss?"

"He aint here tonight, jus' like your boss aint. Le's jus' finish up and get outta here 'fore the Bat and his Brat come."

She smirked. _You're gonna wish it were the Bat by the time I'm done with you._

She jumped on the dealer closest to her, knocking him out with a well placed jab to a pressure point on his neck.

"Who's-"

"Don't matter, just get her!"

She drew her katana, blocking the bullets with ease. She made the bullets hit in non-lethal places. Shoulders, legs. She jumped up, taking out several dealers. The guy behind her dropped by a well placed kick. Not from her.

"I was wondering when you two would show up," she said with a laugh.

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

"Focus on the fight Birdboy, we'll talk later," she said. It took them only a few moments to take out the rest of them then they then went to the roof as the cops drove up.

"Already called the cops huh? Nice-" She turned, only to be glared at by the Batman. He was over a foot taller than her, so it would have been intimidating to most people. To bad for him that she wasn't most people.

"Don't glare at me," she spat. "I was helping."

"Who are you?" he growled.

"The name's Red Kite," she said, mock bowing.

Robin snorted. "What kind of name is that?"

She shot him a glare. "Of shutcha trap, _Robin._ "

"Why are you here?" Batman said, ignoring the exchange.

"What's it look like Bat?" she asked, taking a step back. "Suit, belt, crime fighting skills in spades."

"Who trained you?" Batman growled.

She placed a hand on her chest in a gesture of sincerity. "Now now of all people you should know how important a secret identity is."

"Except that this is my city," he growled. "You want to play hero? Go to Metropolis. Gotham is off limits."

Her lightheartedness disappeared. "I go where I want. I don't need some over-grown rodent telling me what I can and can't do. You saw me take them out, easy. I'm not hurting anyone."

"Tell that to those men you shot," he said.

She huffed. "I didn't shoot them. They shot each other." He glared. "So what if my methods are more extreme. They were shooting at me. I didn't kill them. Any of them."

"What is your goal?" Batman asked.

She shrugged. "Same as yours. Plus it's something to do. Besides, most people will think it's you. I'm not going to hurt your precious Gotham."

"You think we're gonna believe that?" Robin asked.

"No. But I don't care." She started to walk away. "I don't want nutt'n to do with you two. If you don't bother me I won't bother you." Before either of them could stop her, she threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared.

* * *

Dick flipped up and down on the trapeze in the Batcave. They'd just gotten back from patrol, the night had been slow, apart from the girl, Red Kite.

"So Bruce, what are we gonna do about this Red Kite?" he asked.

Bruce didn't looked up. "I placed a tracker on her. It's transmitting."

"Cool." Dick jumped down and went over. At the moment she was going across Gotham, away from the docks, towards...she stopped at a little appliance store called AJ's Tech. "We going after her?"

Bruce didn't answer. Suddenly, the signal disappeared. "She found it," he said in slight aw.

Bruce grunted. "Both of them."

"You had two on her?" he asked.

"I like to be prepared," Bruce said.

"So what are we gonna do?" he asked.

Bruce looked at the screen briefly, then stood. "Nothing."

He stared at his mentor's retreating back. "What? What do you mean _nothing_?"

"I mean, nothing. We're going to wait. It's her move."

* * *

Scarlet turned the tracking device in her hand. She'd crushed one, but rewired the other to stop transmitting. If ever she needed to contact the Bat, she could.

On another subject, she sort of wanted to go to a high school. It was something to do during the day, also a useful gossip outlet. Besides people looked at her weird when they saw a lone fourteen year old at a coffee shop. She could use her considerable hacking skills to get herself records and parents. Her parents wouldn't be around, obviously, only taking messages and such.

Gotham North seemed like a good a place as any. She also needed a job. Something simple, just to get her food. It wouldn't be to hard in school. She knew history, she was good at math, english was, eh, she was also multi-linguistic. She was pretty average in everything else. She'd do good.

She didn't really know _why_ she wanted to. She just did. She would use Kara Madison as an alias. She'd never used it before, so _they_ wouldn't know.

* * *

Scarlet looked around at the chatting teens and little clusters and groups. She didn't blend in very well, she was a dark skinned, light blue eyed, red head amongst white skinned, blond haired Caucasians. Not like she cared though.

First day of school. Gosh that sounded so cheesy. But all well, here we go.

The bell rang and all of the teens filed in. Her first class was math, which she did well at. The roll call was done and over with quickly and the long day of classes began.

At lunch, Scarlet sat alone in the cafeteria, her ears open to the gossip around her. Her classes had been surprisingly easy. It was weird, acting like a regular kid. She couldn't stop herself from analyzing threat levels, exit and entry points, possible escape strategies. It was all drilled into her after all.

 **One week later...**

Scarlet was back 'home', honing the blade of her sword on a whetstone. Her wrist computer that was usually attached to her glove sat beside her. She'd hacked the police frequency so all she had to do now was wait.

She'd already done her homework. "It's so weird having to worry about homework," she muttered to herself.

She'd spent the past week in a steady routine. Get up, train, school, homework, train, wander around Gotham aimlessly, train, patrol.

At night she would patrol Gotham, trying to avoid all encounters with Batman. She hadn't fought any Arkhamites as of yet though. She couldn't say she was disappointed. She'd had enough crazy for a life-time.

The 'zing' of stone on steel was the only noise in the abandoned building. She thought about moving every few nights, but dismissed the idea. She'd already bought a canvas, hooking it to the beams to create a sort of platform. Just so she wouldn't roll off at night.

" _All units respond. Joker and Harley Quinn spotted at the Gotham Bank, five hostages."_

A slow smirk spread across her face. So maybe she did want some action. She quickly changed, grabbing her belt and pulling on her gloves. The domino mask finished off the ensemble.

It only took three minutes to get to the bank. New record. A bunch of police cars were outside. She went to the top of the building, looking down through the skylight.

"You were right Bats."

She didn't even flinch. "Oh hey Bats, Bird. Nice of you to join the party."

"Stay out of this one," Batman growled. "You don't know how to handle a hostage situation."

She snorted, turning. "Says who? I can do it just fine." _I've been both the hero and villain of the situation after all._

Batman glared. She opened the skylight by breaking the lock with her katana.

" 'sides, we're waisting time."

Batman jumped down. "Follow our lead."

She snorted. "Sure bossman, whatever you say." She jumped down after Robin, muttering to herself, "like hell."

The bank was eerily quiet, sunlight streamed in from the skylight.

"Joker's making his move in the day, that's not normal," Robin remarked.

Batman shot him a glance. "Name one thing about the Joker that's normal."

Robin shrugged. "Good point."

She tapped her mask, flicking on the infrared.

"I've got seven heat signatures in the second room to the right, two more on the second story," she reported. _Reported? Since when do I report?_ Robin glanced at her, she shrugged. "Infrared."

"Same," Robin said.

"Robin and Red Kite, you get the hostages. I'll take Joker and Harley," Batman ordered.

Robin gave a short nod, going in the direction of the seven heat signature room. She followed quickly.

 _Followed? Reported? Geez girl, get your head in the game._

They found two big guys, machine guns pointed at three hostages who were gagged, bound and unconscious. Three. Robin glanced at her. Uh oh.

Something slammed into her from behind.

"Oh Mistah J, your plan worked poifectly!" A high-pitched, bright voice with a New Jersey accent rang out.

She picked herself up, Joker and Harley Quinn stood in the doorway.

"Don't move birds, or the people eat led," Joker said. Then cackled. "Don't you just love a good surprise?"

"By now, Batman has found the other two hostages, tied to a bomb set to go off in three minutes," Harley said. "Isn't Mistah J a genius?"

"Why thank you Harley."

Her eyes flicked to Robin, he was inching a bat-a-rang from his glove even as she pulled a shurikans from hers.

He gave a barely perceptible nod. The threw their respective weapons at the same time, hit the guns with a small explosion. She jumped on one thug, hitting several pressure points, he dropped like a stone. Robin had already taken out his.

"Oh like we didn't expect that." He pulled a giant gun from behind the door, cackling madly and firing wildly. The bullets, miraculously, missed the hostages, who were still tied and gagged.

She spun her sword in a metallic blur, blocking the bullets.

"Impressive," Joker said.

She threw an ice pellet, it hit the gun, ice flew up the barrel almost catching Joker's hands.

"I almost forgot to ask, who exactly are you?" Joker asked, rubbing his hands, he whipped out two switchblades, blocking an attack from Robin's eskrima sticks.

She dodged a bullet fired by Harley.

"No one of consequence," she said. "But you can call me Red Kite." She caught Harley's leg, who'd tried to kick her, throwing Harley back to Joker. "I think this is yours!" Joker simply sidestepped.

Robin dropped down on Joker, using him as a springboard and landing next to her.

"Well that was lame," Joker said, seeming annoyed.

"Check again," Robin said with a smirk.

The explosives on Joker's knives blew. Something slammed into her, Harley.

"Don't you dare hurt mistah J!" she said. Red Kite dodged a punch, her foot catching Harley in the jaw, dropping her.

She looked up to Batman take out the Joker, then helped Robin up.

"Civilians safe?" she asked.

He gave her a sharp nod.

She cut the civilians bonds, re-sheathing her katana across her back. Batman and Robin had already tied up the Joker and Harley Quinn.

The civilians started to groan. She backed out of the room, shooting a grappler up to the skylight, landing up on the roof.

Both Robin and Batman were there momentarily.

"Staying out of the spotlight?" Robin questioned. She shot him a glare.

"You did surprisingly well," Batman remarked.

"S-surprisingly?" she sputtered incredulously.

"I can help you," he added.

She crossed her arms defiantly. "I'm fine on my own."

Robin coughed/snorted.

"This is also my city," Batman growled.

She held up her hands. "I get it okay? No powers, no killing. Got it."

"Those aren't the only factors," he added, eyes narrowing.

She backed away. "I won't get in your way. Promise." She turned and jumped off the building.

She took a round-about way back home, panting by the time she got there. She leaned against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position. She leaned her head against the wall.

 _That was close. To close. Could he know? No. Well, he is_ The _Batman._

She hoped he would let her continue as a hero. She told herself it was just for the rush, the action that came with the cape (so to speak), but it was more than that. It was a way for her to make up for all that she'd done, to honor _their_ memory and continue their mission. And a way to wipe away some of the red in her ledger.

She shuddered, her heart pounding, at the echoes of the screaming, the terror, gunshots and painful silence. Closing her eyes and resting her head against her knees and breathed deeply.

 _Deep breath. In...out...in...out._

The shudders soon subsided and her heart returned to it's normal rate. She hated this. It made her feel weak. Weak and small. It was _his_ fault. He made her this way...and she hated it.

She slowly stood, running a hand through her long red hair, slowly drawing in a long shuddering breath.

"Never break. Never submit. Never give up," she recited. This phrase had been hammered into her from early childhood, she'd done it up to now, and she _wasn't_ about to quit.

* * *

 **So what did you think? Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! Hey look at that! I'M ON TIME! I'll probably posting new chapters every few days, maybe more.**

 **Please review! It means a lot to me and brightens my day every time! Please please please!**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **Red Kite: Why do I have to do the disclaimer?**

 **Robin: Because she wouldn't let me blade brain.**

 **Red Kite: Don't call me that _bird brain_.**

 **Robin: Why? You don't scare me with your little tingymajig**

 **Red Kite: Why you little-**

 **Me: Ok ok that's enough-**

 **Red Kite: Shut your hole Writer.**

 **Me: Excuse me?! You little brat _I_ created you.**

 **Red Kite: But I don't belong to you, you b-**

 **Me: That's enough sweety, you might want to talk nicer to me *spins pen* I've got your fate in my hands...**

 **Robin: Ok ladies enough with the fighting. Me, Batman, the JLA and the Titans don't belong to the writer, just Red Kite.**

 **Red Kite: Robin I'm gonna k-**

 **Robin: On to the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Directive**

Scarlet looked at the front page of the news paper, a smirk on her face. The headline read:

 **NEW HERO IN GOTHAM?  
by Vicki Vale  
**

The picture was obviously computer graphics.

"You don't buy it, you don't read it," the guy at the stand said in a bored monotone.

She mentally and momentarily debated, then handed him the money. It might be a fun read. That reminded her, she needed a job. Soon. Her savings were running out. Like, last week. At the moment though, she was just going to enjoy this article.

 _'Multiple reports have come in of a mysterious 'Red Kite' Supposedly a young girl. Does the Bat have a new protégé or is this solo hero on her own?_

 _Commissioner Gordan states that, and I quote "it is unlikely that the Bat has a new partner, though not impossible."_

 _Similar to Batman and Robin, this, 'Red Kite,' leaves common criminals tied to lamp posts or on the sidewalk. Usually unconscious, though some have been handcuffed to poles, conscious, and slightly confused. No one has yet found wether or not this new 'hero' has any superhuman ability._

The article continued. She had to admit, Vale did her homework, even interviewing a mugger Red Kite took down. It occurred to her that she may need more info on the other heroes if she ever had to fight any of them. Which was more than possible in her current position. And she knew just where to get that info...

* * *

" _Beam me up to watchtower, whoever's there,"_ Robin's voice came through the comm unit.

A bright light appeared, when it cleared, there was only smoke.

Red Kite looked down at the teleport pad with a smirk. She'd rewired the tracker to catch League frequencies, then it was a simple matter to change her voice.

With luck, Green Arrow, who was on monitor duty, would think it was just a prank, without luck, he would run a search.

Thankfully, the Martian was on one of the islands, dealing with earthquakes. Even though she could shield her thoughts, it was possible he could still sense her.

She climbed through the vents, coming to a control panel. She plugged in her hacker. It didn't take to long to hack the computer system and download the mainframe. It was kind of scary actually, how easy it was, though it was mostly attributed to the fact that a few of the monitors were down at the moment.

She peaked out of the vent. Green Arrow wasn't looking, speaking into a communicator, probably trying to contact Batman. She dropped down.

"You're probably looking for me," she remarked. She handspring twice, kicking him for he could recovered, she typed in coordinates for Gotham and teleported, giving Green Arrow a mock salute, but not before shooting him with a tranquilizer dart.

"Bye bye!" she sang, and shimmered from view.

* * *

Scarlet was disappointed to find that the JLA mainframe didn't have a whole ton of info she didn't know already, or need. Her men- _former_ , mentor, had made her memorize all the secret ID's of the main Leaguers and Titans. She also knew who Batman and Robin were.

It had a lot of reports of previous missions and such, but that was pretty useless to her. She knew the origin and current status of the main League members, and some of the not so main Leaguers.

She shook her head, flicking off the computer. Not helping. Beating up a few criminals might help. It was only eight o'clock. To early for the Bat.

Except that only a few minutes in, she was surrounded by Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow.

"Yep, that's her," Arrow said.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What do you blockheads want?" she asked.

"Why did you go into the Watchtower, and how did you get the League frequency?" Manhunter asked.

"And if I don't tell you?" she asked snarkily.

"We take you into custody," Wonder Woman said.

She snorted. "You think you can do that? I let you find me, if I'd wanted to I could have deleted the teleport memory and laid low."

"J'onn." Superman nodded to the Martian.

She felt a prodding in her mind, she threw a small pellet at the Martian's feet, it exploded and fire formed a ring around him.

"Don't even think about it," she hissed.

Superman blew out the flames, while Wonder Woman came at her with a sword, which she blocked with her own.

"What is going on here?" A gravely voice said. She smirked slightly. "What have I told you about Gotham?"

"This juvenile broke into the Watchtower," Superman said.

Batman raised an eyebrow. She kicked Wonder Woman's legs out from under her and handspring over to Batman.

"The one in space?" Batman questioned. "That can only be accessed via teleporter? Wow. How sad."

She'd never heard Batman sound sarcastic before. It was kinda funny.

"Is she one of yours?" Wonder Woman asked.

Batman glanced at her. "Maybe. But this is Gotham. I'll take care of it." Superman nodded.

"What?! She attacked me!" Green Arrow said.

She smirked. "Yeah, and knocked you unconscious. You'd think a thirty year old expert bowman with martial arts training could beat a fourteen year old. _Mr. Queen._ "

Arrow sent her a murderous look

"Make sure she is under control," Wonder Woman said. "She attacked J'onn."

"After he tried to read my mind!" she exclaimed. "That was totally deserved."

The Martian glanced at her. "I can do more than read your mind."

"And I can do more than a dinky little ring of fire," she shot back.

"Enough," Batman said. "Leave. She won't bother you if you don't bother us."

They disappeared.

"Who says I wo-" she stopped. "Wait, did you say us?"

"There's only one way you're going to work in Gotham, and that's under my directive."

She crossed her arms. "Why? I can abide by your rules and take care of myself. I'm a big girl. Brucie," she winked.

Batman glared at her. People seemed to be doing that a lot. She shrugged. "I do my homework."

"As I said before, this is my city, it's my responsibility to make sure you don't kill anyone- accident or otherwise...Strike."

Her eyes widened. A split second later, she had her katana at his throat. "How. The _hell_. Do you. Know. That?" she hissed.

He moved the blade away nonchalantly. "I make it my business to know. But regardless of your...past, I am willing to give you a chance. On _my_ terms."

Her arms fell to her sides limply. "I want to...make up, for what Strike-what _I_ did."

"And you have a chance to do that. With a few conditions."

She nodded finally. "Fine. What are they?"

"First and foremost, no killing, and try to avoid permanent maiming. No powers in Gotham."

She nodded. "Should be easy enough. But one thing." She took a deep breath. "You can't tell anyone. Ever. Not Robin, not the League, _no one_ ," she said. "If you give me a fail-safe file, which you probably will, make something up. I know Robin has access to most of your files. I don't want him to know."

"Him in particular?" Batman asked.

She looked away. "Maybe."

"Fine. But one more thing..."

* * *

 **Who is Strike...? I know you're all probably wondering and yes it shall be explained later.**

 **Side note: I've had people mention to me that my writing is confusing and doesn't explain things enough, well, to those people and everyone, it's _supposed_ to be like that. Rest assured I do know what I'm doing and I will explain everything given time. Pay attention though, e _verything_ I write means something even if it seems like a tiny coincidence or an off-the-cuff comment it does mean something if you pay attention ;)**

 **Anyway that's all for today! Next update will probably be on Saturday, see ya next time to reveal Batsy's final condition!**

 **Robin: Aw man I wasn't in this one, this suuucks!**

 **Me: Don't worry Rob I'll bring you in next chapter.**

 **Robin: Really?**

 **Me: Oh yeah *snickers evilly* you're going to have a _blast_ next chap! Hehe.**

 **Robin: Why do I always get the crazy writers? *groans***

 **Red Kite: That's all for now folks! *gags* ugh, that sounded disgustingly cheesy...gotta go wash my mouth out now...**

 **See ya next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I'm a tad late I know but Saturday was busy with work and crap, anyway chapter 4 and it's ensuing chaos...the reveal of Batman's final condition.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Complications**

"No. Nope, nada, zilch, never, ever _ever_." Red Kite shook her head vigorously at Batman's final condition.

"You agreed," he said.

"No, you were just telling me the conditions, I never agreed to anything," she said desperately.

"Do you want a place in Gotham or not?"

She turned away. "You don't get it."

"What? That you've had a team before. That you've tried before and, in your opinion, failed before." Her eyes widened. "I know about Bermuda."

She shuddered slightly. "Stop. Please."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "That's surviver's guilt Scarlet, there was nothing you could have done that you didn't do and you know it."

"If I were stronger, I could have done it, I could have...saved them." She hugged herself tightly, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"No, you couldn't have. No matter how strong you were, no matter how fast you went, no one could have saved them."

She bit her lip until she tasted blood. _Yes I could have. If I was stronger I could have._

"You need to let that go."

She shook her head. "Stop it. It was my fault. They're all gone. All gone because of me."

"No one could have foreseen the earthquake. They all knew that. It came with the job. But this is a second chance. It's a chance for you to let go of that guilt, use your abilities to help people."

"You don't know what happened!" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it! No. I can't have anyone else's blood on my hands."

She ran and jumped, shooting a grappler and swinging off. She knew that he probably had a tracer on her, but at this point she didn't care.

She arrived at her safe-haven unscathed. Sitting on the topmost beam, she leaned against the wall, one leg dangling over the edge. She pulled a small, circular pendant from under her suit, on the silver cover of it were swirling lines and designs. She opened the locket and inside were page-like images.

One of her family, before. Another of her team, before. And one of her and her best friend, before.

Before the Shadows. Before Deathstroke. Before Strike.

She laughed bitterly. "Everything I touch goes to pieces. My family, my team, my life." She gripped the small pendant so tightly her knuckles were white. "I can't live like this," she whispered. "A life like this is no life at all."

She picked up her sword, running a hand along it's smooth edge. There were beautifully engraved words along the edge. The language was Romani, the gypsy tongue.

 _Nu cedati niciodata_

"Never give up," she recited in a whisper. "Never is such a long time." Her eyes hardened. "And I can last for much longer."

A few nights later, she was waiting for Batman and Robin at the Batsignal. She'd already been on patrol for a few hours, she was almost ready to go home.

She took a deep breath, she could do this. She would. Both Batman and Robin arrived swiftly.

Batman gave her a questioning look, she nodded. "What's up?" Robin greeted.

"The sky."

"Ha ha hilarious."

She smirked. "I intercepted a text from that dealer we nabbed a few nights ago, there's another deal goin' down. Tonight."

* * *

"Clear on my end," she reported into the comm Batman had given her.

Both Robin and Batman replied with the same thing.

Her eyes roved the still docks. Five minutes passed...then ten...

She started to report. "Clea-oh wait hold up..." She flicked on her infrared, then smirked. "Gotcha. I got four heat sigs. They're in a moving truck coming up to warehouse #23. Another truck behind them."

" _I've got a black u-haul truck comin' up from the East,"_ Robin said. " _Switching to x-ray... truck's got four crates and three guys with guns."_

" _Hostile count?"_ Batman asked.

" _Mmm...I'm counting fourteen, possibly fifteen,"_ Robin reported. "What's the plan?" Red Kite asked.

There was silence from both Batman and Robin, she turned on her infrared, then cursed softly. Both of them were already in the warehouse. She quickly made her way over, staying out of sight and making minimal noise.

"Gee thanks for keeping me informed," she hissed. Robin shot her a cheeky smile. She stuck her tongue at him. Batman shot them both a glare.

"Get those crates unloaded," thug #1 commanded. "Where's the boss?" thug #2 asked.

"You don't get paid to ask questions," thug #1 replied. The other party drove up.

"I trust the merchandise is all counted for?" A well-dressed man asked, stepping out of the second truck.

"Yea' we got it, where's the payment?" thug #1 asked.

Dressy waved a hand, two guys came out, they had a case, inside the case were diamonds.

#1 rubbed his hands, reaching for the diamonds.

"Ah ah ah. The merchandise."

He grumbled but waved a hand. The three crates were brought over. The smallest of the crates had a mechanical thing.

Red Kite tapped her mask, zooming in on the head. "Guys, that's Amazo," she whispered. "This is bad." Batman made several hand motions. Message received.

Smoke flooded the building. Red Kite went after the guys around Amazo, taking them out almost too easily. It was hard not to just kill them.

"Old habits die hard," she muttered between clenched teeth. She ducked a random flying body and blocked bullets with her sword. Through the smoke, she saw the lead man try to escape. She smiled, throwing her sword with extreme precision. The sword caught his shirt and he was close enough to the wall that it pinned him there. She did several handsprings and landed next to him. (So maybe she was showing off a little, who cared?)

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked with a smirk. She tied his legs, removed her sword from his shirt, sheathing it, and grabbed him, grappling up through the skylight (why was there even a skylight?) and up on the roof. She threw him down on the ground, glancing back on the closing battle below.

"Who the hell are you? Another Bat?" he asked.

She turned, every hint of a smile gone. "No," she said softly, menacingly. "But you'll wish I were." She dragged him closer to the edge of the building. "Now I am going to ask you once, _once,_ and if you don't answer with the truth, well," she chuckled, "I've killed men twice your size and skill."

"If you think I'm gonna tell you anything, than you're crazier than the Bat," he sneered.

She smiled coldly. "Oh I am. I was trained to kill. And believe me when I tell you that if you don't tell me who your boss is, than I will sever every ligament, cut apart every muscle, break every bone." She held him so that their noses were almost touching. "You will be in more pain than you can imagine. And then, and only then, will I put your pathetic excuse for a human being out of your misery."

He was unsure now, sweat trickled down his temple. "I know you hero-types don't kill."

"Who said I was a hero?" She wrapped her hand around his neck and squeezed. "Who bought Amazo? Who had enough to pay in _diamonds_?" she hissed. He stayed tightlipped. "Have you ever heard of Strike?" she asked coldly.

His eyes were wide.

"That's right," she hissed. "You know what happens to an energy source that is contained? It builds up, expands, scratches at the walls and screams to be let out. The same thing goes for me. I'm a killer, nothing can change that and I know it. I haven't killed in a long time and I'm itching to let that killer out."

"Y-you're a monster," he choked out.

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "Yes I am. And you know what happens to monsters who are caged?" she snarled. "Come on, I'm waiting." He was sweating now. "Oh it would be so, _so_ easy to just...let you go." She moved him towards the edge of the building. "I don't think falling onto your head from this height would be good for your health..."

Sweat dripped from his face.

"Tell me now, or you'll wish that the Bat had caught you," she snarled.

"D-d-d-d-on't, I-I'll t-talk."

She dropped him back onto the roof, snagging a pocket watch from his coat. "Hurry up, your clock is ticking," she said, lifting the watch to show him.

"His name's Drage, that's all I know I swear!" he insisted. Her blood ran cold. There was a crunching sound.

She felt a someone tap her shoulder. "Red-" She whipped around with lightning reflexes grabbed his shoulder, holding her sword to his throat.

"Red Kite," a voice growled.

She slowly let go, her sword tip fell to the ground. She glanced down at the crushed remnants of the pocket watch. Robin seemed surprised, shocked even.

"Sorry," she muttered. She glanced at the wide-eyed man on the ground, than slammed her foot down, effectively knocking him out.

"Why'd you do that?" Robin asked. "We could have gotten information!"

"I already did," she said. "His boss is some guys named Drage," she explained, looking at Batman. "You know him?"

Batman turned, grabbed the man and jumped.  
She blew out a puff of air. "Is he always like this?" she asked, handing her comm unit to Robin.

"Yeah." Robin followed his mentor. "We called the police already, so you can go if you want. See ya later Red."

"Don't call me that," she said. "Ever."

He just laughed and disappeared over the edge of the building. On her way home, she stopped a few muggings, attempted rapes, took down a few bad guys, the like. All with a smirk or a smile.

But as soon as she got back to her dirty, broken-down, makeshift home, she dropped the fake smile and leaned against the wall. Her heart sped up, anger clouded her vision, she turned and slammed a fist into the wall, the stone crumbling to make a hole around her now-bloody fist.

Tears of anger and sorrow blurred her vision.

"I'll make you pay Drage. I swear on their graves, you. Will. Pay."

* * *

 _Strike stood next to her mentor, Deathstroke, confronted by a messenger and his guard. She held a sniper by the barrel, the butt resting on her hip._

" _I was unaware that the great Deathstroke had a sidekick," one of them said dryly._

 _Her masked eyes narrowed. "And this 'sidekick' will kill you without a thought if you don't show her the proper respect," she hissed. "Or haven't you heard of Strike?"_

 _He obviously paled. "Apologies."  
"Now who is your master, and what does he want?" she asked.  
"He is the mighty Drage." Strike hid the burning anger at that name. "He has a job for you." Deathstroke glanced at her, silently prompting her to answer. _

_Her mouth twisted into a smile, she spoke almost conversationally. "Drage, the child trafficker? The murderer? The drug dealer? Mob boss? A man who desecrates the Earth with his mere existence?"_

 _A beed of sweat trickled down his temple._

 _In the blink of an eye he was on the ground, the muzzle of her sniper pressed to his forehead._

 _Her voice grew cold as ice, soft and menacing. "You can tell Drage that we don't work for men who orphan six year olds and sell them as merchandise," she hissed. "And tell him that he'd better lay low. Because no matter where he hides...he won't be able to escape my bullet."_

 _She let him up and the two men turned and fled._

 _"Strike, how many men does it take to deliver a message?" Deathstroke asked. She smiled grimly, raising the sniper._

 _"Just...one..."  
_

 _BANG!_

"NO!"

She awoke with a shout, adrenaline pumped through her veins, her heart pounded in her ears. "No." She rested her forehead on her knees. "That's not me. I'm not Strike," she whispered.

 _Once an assassin, always an assassin._

"No!" she said it louder, as if trying to convince someone, anyone. Herself would be nice.

" _Just one..."_

"Stop!" She hugged her knees, rocking back and forth. "No..."

* * *

"So what are we doing?" Red Kite asked the Dark Knight as they walked through the halls of the Watchtower.

"Superman called a meeting," he answered. Wow, he actually answered.  
"Then what am I doing here?" she asked. "We both know that no one in the League like me. Heck, they barely even _tolerate_ me, and that's being generous."

Batman glanced at her, but stayed silent. She grumbled a little, but let it go. She'd find out soon enough.

When they got to the meeting room, Batman took his seat, while she was left to stand. She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms moodily. The founding members of the League consisted of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow and they were all seated around the oval-shaped table in the middle of the room.

"Now that everyone's here, I will officially call this meeting to order," Superman said. She rolled her eyes.

"Why did you call us here?" Batman growled. "I don't have time to be called back and forth willy nilly."

Superman cleared his throat. "As most of you already know, about two weeks ago, we had an intruder in the Watchtower. She downloaded our files and knocked Green Arrow unconscious."

"Which was incredibly easy, by the way," she interjected. Seven pairs of eyes turned to glare at her. She shrugged, unperturbed. "What? S'true."

"You took me by surprise," Green Arrow protested.  
She smirked. "Yeah, weren't you supposed to be on monitor duty? Isn't that like, guard duty or something?"

"Enough!" Batman intervened before anything else could be said. "What is your point Superman?"

"I called this meeting to discuss her status as a hero, and evaluate her threat level," Superman said. She was on high alert in a split second.

"What?! That is so lame. I don't have to answer to any of you, except maybe Bats, but only because I operate in Gotham," she exclaimed. "You have no right!"

"But what Batman proposed affects everyone," Wonder Woman said calmly. "If you are to join the team, we need to decide as a group."

"Because they're your sidekicks," she muttered. "Wow, how brilliant." Wonder Woman stood, taking out her...lasso...

She backed up, alarmed. "Oh no, don't you dare." She turned to Batman, something akin to desperation in her eyes. "Tell them to stop."

Batman observed her silently for a moment, then asked, "what questions do you plan on asking?"

Superman answered, "Simple ones, who trained her, if she has powers, how long she's been a hero."

Batman gave a slight nod. Anger flared in her, she glared at Wonder Woman.

"Don't make me hurt you," she hissed.

Wonder Woman sighed. "It won't hurt if you cooperate. And we promise not to ask anything too personal."

"I'm pretty sure everything Kent just said was personal," she hissed.

Surprise shown on the face of every League member.

"What?" she snapped. "Just because everyone in Metropolis is stupid doesn't mean I am."

"Excuse me?" Superman asked, standing.

"Really, glasses and a personality change? Pathetic," she snarled. "The only actually smart person here in terms of SI (secret identity) is Bats and maybe Flash and GL."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Green Arrow asked indignantly.

She sniffed. "Fine, you too."

"Red Kite," Batman growled. "They already dislike you enough."

She glared at the Amazon, then at Batman, then back at Wonder Woman. "Fine," she spat through clenched teeth.

Wonder Woman placed the lasso around her, it was loose. "Who trained you?"

She felt a horrible feeling, trying to force the answer out. She snapped her mouth shut, gritting her teeth together. Her head reeled.

"Impressive," Wonder Woman said, looking like she meant it. "But no one can resist the lasso's power."

A smirk ghosted across her features. " _Stróc bás_ ," she said. The feelings disappeared. Her smirk widened. She saw Batman smile.

The entire League (excluding Batman) looked extremely confused.

"What did you say?" Superman questioned. She repeated her answer. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," she answered.

"Do you have powers?"

" _Bẹẹni_ ," she replied.

"How long have you been a hero?"

This one she answered. "Not long."

"What language was that?"

" _Sebahagian daripadanya yang berbeza_ ," she answered. Batman's smirk widened.

"Answer in English," Wonder Woman commanded.

" _A f̱ tí̱ í̱ tan mia entolí̱_ ," she pointed out in perfect Themyscarian.

"How...?" Wonder Woman was completely dumbfounded. "How do you know Themyscarian ?"

" _Eṉ vaḻikāṭṭiyāṉa eṉakku kaṟṟu_ ," she answered.

Wonder Woman growled.

"Enough," Batman commanded. "I know all of these answers."

"What are they?" Superman asked.

She tensed. "I'm not going to tell any of you. These questions are on a personal level for Red Kite and I promised I would keep her secrets." Red Kite was beyond surprised. "You'll just have to trust me."

The League knew that they weren't going to get anywhere and Wonder Woman removed the lasso. Red Kite was relieved to have it off. She hated the feeling it gave her.

"What languages were those?" Superman asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I love how you think I'm gonna tell you. It doesn't take a genius to tell that you would just translate the words using the security tapes." She pulled up a little hologram on her glove. "Which are, btw, wiped clean as of...now."

Batman stood. "Enough Red Kite. If we're done here, I have other, more productive, things to do."

Superman gave a slight nod. As she followed Batman out of the room, she turned, giving a mock salute.

"A pleasure to play," she said. "I look forward to the next match."

Once out of earshot of the room, Batman glared at her. "What was that?" he growled.

She shrugged. "Showing them what I can do, and that I keep my secrets to myself. That nothing they do will change that." She shot him a glance. "And I saw you smirking in there. You knew what I would do, you knew they wouldn't get any answers."

Batman smirked slightly now. "I know who trained you and I know he would teach you certain failsafes in case something like that happened."

She grumbled something under her breath in Arabic. Along with a few curses.

* * *

"Do I have to?" Red Kite sent Batman a pleading look. She knew she sounded like a desperate child, but at this point she didn't care. It was just after the League meeting.

Batman shot her a glare. She sighed. They were walking through the halls of the Watchtower, on their way to the teleport platform.

She didn't know how Batman had known about her old team, the point was that he _knew,_ he'd known something that only one person alive knew. Her.

A thought occurred to her. She stopped.

"Batman, were you monitoring me?" she asked. He didn't answer, didn't stop walking. She blocked his path. "Answer me! How did you know about Bermuda?"

"A few months ago there was an earthquake in Bermuda, a volcano erupted, six unknown heroes intervened, those heroes disappeared into the mountain and no one came out." He paused. "You saved a lot of lives."

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"A child you rescued was from Gotham," Batman said. "He and his parents were on vacation there. The picture in the newspaper looks similar enough to you that he recognized you as the hero who saved him."

"But...how did, how did you find out?" she asked. "Were they at some charity event?"

"Yes, actually. I know the child's parents. When they came to the manor, the newspaper was on one of the chairs, he saw it and mentioned it."

"How old is this kid?" she asked.

"Around seven."

She ran a hand through her hair. "So it was pure coincidence that you put it all together. Just my luck," she muttered. "You're incredibly unemotional, you know that right?"

"You agreed."

She shot a glare at him, which did nothing. Of course. "So this team, who founded it?" she asked.

"Robin."

"Who assigns missions?"

"I do."

Batman nodded to the Martian, who was on monitor duty, and he typed in the teleport coordinates. There was a bright flash of light, when the light cleared, they were in a good sized room, several different doors branched off.

Batman turned to her. "Red Kite, welcome to Titan Tower."

* * *

Robin responded to Batman's call and gathered the Titans in the meeting room. Batman entered.

"As some as you may have heard, a new, solo hero has arisen in Gotham," he said. _Uh oh._ He didn't like the sound of this. Red Kite stepped into the room. "This is Red Kite, your new teammate."

* * *

 **Duh dun dunnaaaa! Red Kite's joining the Teen Titans! Woo hoo! Eh...not so much. New update in a few days!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys sorry about the wait! Here you go! (it's a long one ;) )**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Teen Titans**

Silence filled the room. Red Kite stood with her arms crossed, and a look on her face that said- _What you gonna do about it?_

"Say what?" Cyborg said finally, breaking the silence.

"I'm your new teammate," she said with a relaxed wave of her hand that gave off an air of confidence she didn't have. "Or weren't you listening?"

"Batman-"

Batman interrupted Robin. "This isn't up for debate."

"Does she even have any training?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yes, _she_ does," Red Kite spat, offended by the lack of faith he had in both her and Batman for putting her on the team.

"I think it'll be nice to have another girl on the team," Wonder Girl said optimistically.

"Who is she?" Blue Beetle asked.

"Sorry darlin' that's classified," she said.

"Oh great, another Robin," Kid Flash grumbled. "Just what we needed."

She glared at him. "Just because-"

"Red Kite's identity is to be kept secret from the team at her discretion," Batman interrupted, ending further argument.

"Come on, Rob keeps his SI from the group because he founded it," Kid Flash said. "I don't see that privilege being extended to a newb."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence West," Red Kite grumbled.

"Did you just-"

"Wally West, aka Kid Flash, protege of the Flash, aka Barry Allen. You got your powers by recreating the circumstances that gave the Flash his powers. Your powers include super speed, enhanced healing, faster thought process, and a big mouth."

"How do you know all that?" West demanded, on his feet in an instant.

She smirked. "I know about all of you."

"Me?" Wonder girl asked.

"Wonder girl, aka Cassandra Sandsmark, daughter of Helena Sandsmark and the god Zeus, powers include enhanced speed, strength and flight, your lasso was given to you by the god Ares and is affected by your anger levels."

Wonder girl's eyes were wide.

"You can't possibly know all of us," Cyborg challenged. _Challenge accepted._

"Cyborg, aka Victor Stone, origin; car crash, your father, a head scientist at Star Labs, saved you by giving you cybernetic implants. The implants were outfitted with various tech and weapons and you used this to your advantage, becoming the hero Cyborg." She smirked. "Next?"

"Me," Blue Beatle volunteered.

"Blue Beetle, aka Heimi or Jaime Reyes, you inherited the beetle from it's previous host, Ted Cord."

"Superboy."

"Superboy, aka Connor Kent. A clone of Superman, genetically made and grown by Cadmus as a failsafe in case Superman ever went rogue. Which he did. Powers include super-strength, super- hearing, invulnerability and x-ray vision, and jumping really high."

"Robin."

"Robin, protege of the Batman. Abilities include but are not limited to martial arts, a vast array of gadgets, and extensive training in a wide selection of weapons. Favored weapons, bat-a-rang and electrified eskerma sticks. Identity-" Batman cleared his throat loudly. She shrugged innocently. "What? I was going to say 'classified'."

There was a beeping noise and Batman touched a button on his glove, then turned and left without another word.

Beetle blinked "Okay, that was..."

"Batman," both Robin and Red Kite said in unison. Robin shot her a glare, which she ignored. There was an awkward silence.

"Well, this is awkward," Wonder girl said finally.

"Agreed," Superboy said.

"Do you want a tour?" Wonder girl asked.

"I downloaded the tower mainframe five minutes ago," she said nonchalantly. "I have a complete map of the entire tower."

"WHAT?!" Robin demanded. "What is Batman thinking?" he muttered.

"Is that how you knew so much about us?" West asked.

She smirked. "No. I already knew all that."

"Do you have powers?" Beetle asked.

"Nah. Only seven years of martial arts training, and a large variety of weapons. Oh, and training in virtually every weapon on the planet," she said.

"I bet you couldn't beat me," West bragged.

"You wanna test that theory?" she challenged.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked, standing.

She smirked. "You guys got a training room?"

In a few moments, Red Kite and Kid Flash were in the training room. She dropped her belt outside the training area.

"Why you doin' that?" West asked.

She smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Just evening the odds."

"You're gonna wish you had that," he said cockily.

"No. I'm not."

"Ready. Set. Fight!" Wonder girl said, excitement shined in her eyes.

Kid Flash immediately stared running in circles around her. She could feel the air getting thinner. She marked his position, then dove forward, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

They were both up immediately. She blocked a punch and threw one of her own, they went into hand to hand combat, it was slightly difficult to keep up with him. He wasn't called 'Kid Flash' for nothing.

"And here I heard you were some great fighter," he said with a laugh. He made the mistake of trying a round house kick.

She caught his foot, smirking at his look of surprise. "You heard right." She slammed him into the ground, pinning him down, he flipped her over, turning the tables.

"Gotcha."

Her legs flew up, wrapping around his neck and slamming him down onto the ground, she hand- springed back up into a standing position.

Kid Flash groaned, rubbing his head gingerly. She held out a hand.

"Eat your words," she said with a smirk. He grumbled but took her hand.

"You've got some nice moves," Cyborg complimented. "Who trained you?"

"Classified," she said simply, clipping on her belt. "Now, what exactly do you people do during the day?" she asked.

"Depends," Robin shrugged. "Sometimes we have a mission-" He was cut off by a beeping noise. "Like that. Let's go."

She followed them into the mission room. Batman appeared on the screen.

"What's the mission Bats?" Robin asked.

" _You all know of the robot Amazo. He's going to be driven in three parts to three different labs. One in Star City, New York, and Metropolis. There are four additional trucks as decoys. The Titans will be guarding the three real transports."_

"Will do," Robin said. "What's the starting point?"

" _You'll be meeting the trucks right outside Gotham."_

"Got it. We're on our way." The communication was cut. "You can borrow one of our bikes," he said to her, slightly grudgingly.

"Yes sir," she mock saluted. "I just wish we'd get some action."

* * *

Robin put the Titans in two squads of two and one squad of three. Cyborg and Kid Flash were beta, Wonder girl and Blue Beetle were delta, and Robin, Superboy and Red Kite were alpha. Robin was annoyed that Batman had assigned Red Kite to his team without telling him. But he trusted his mentor and knew he had a reason, but it was still frustrating. Red Kite drove him crazy.

"So what made you decide to be a hero?" Superboy asked.

Red Kite shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to use my training to help people."

"Where are you from?" Superboy asked.

"I grew up traveling. I'm not sure where I was born," she replied thoughtfully. "I should ask my parents. Anyway, I live in Gotham now."

"Guys, focus on the mission," Robin said.

"What? Nothing's happening," Red Kite said.

"But anything could Red," he replied.

She scowled. "Don't call me that."

He smirked. "Fine. Red."

She shot him a glare, coming dangerously close to the batglare. He'd already seen how she was immune to the 'batglare.' He wondered for the millionth time who trained her.

"If you call me that again, I swear I will-" Whatever threat she had planned was cut off by a shrill screeching. Spinning discs flew out of nowhere, hovering over the truck.

Superboy tapped a button on his bike and jumped off, landing on the truck. Red Kite drove up alongside the truck, also putting the bike on autopilot, and hung off the side of the truck, hanging by her sword, which she'd stuck in the truck. He flipped off his bike and onto the truck, pulling out his eskerma sticks. The three teens started destroying the spinning discs and the shrieking continued.

One of the tires blew out. Superboy pulled the two drivers out and jumped as the engine was destroyed by the stupid discs.

"Time to bail," he said.

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Red Kite said as they jumped, going into an army roll to break the fall. He flipped up and threw several bat-a-rangs in rapid succession, taking out several discs. The discs shredded through the truck, they came out with the crate hanging from four of them.

"BOMB!" Red Kite shouted. Robin saw a silver sphere drop from one of the discs. Red Kite ran up to it.

"Red!"

She picked it up and threw it into the air, right as it exploded. All of them were blasted back. Robin picked himself up, groaning. His eyes widened.

"Red!" She was lying on her back, still. He shook her, then pressed his ear to her chest.

Her eyes snapped open and suddenly he was on his back, her knee on his chest. She jumped off of him.

"Sorry."

He stood. "It's fine." Superboy drove up on his bike, the two bikes behind him and both Robin and Red Kite mounted their bikes. They drove in the direction of the tracker he'd planted on the crate.

"All squads respond," Robin said into his comm.

" _Beta squad was ambushed,"_ KF's voice came through. " _They took our Amazo part."_

" _Delta squad here, we were attacked by spinning discs, they took our part, leaving a parting gift in bomb form,"_ Blue Beetle said.

"I placed a tracker on the crate, follow the signal I sent. Superboy and Kid Flash go ahead, we'll meet you at the source. It seems to be headed back to Gotham."

Superboy nodded, putting the bike on autopilot and jumping ahead.

"Good thinking Wonder Boy," Red Kite remarked.

He shot her an irritated glance, she smirked. "I know. Red."

It was her turn to look at him in annoyance.

They followed the tracer to a warehouse at the docks. Right as the bikes stopped, Superboy crashed through the roof. There was a shout from inside, Kid Flash.

"Come on!" Both he and Red Kite rushed inside.

Amazo was fully rebuilt, he was choking KF, a man sat on the edge of a crate, watching the fight. The flying discs hovered around him and he seemed perfectly at ease amongst the chaos. But Robin couldn't think about that right now, his first priority was Amazo. He took all of this in in a split second, immediately throwing a bat-a-rang at the robot. He phased, letting KF go in the process, the bat-a-rang exploded behind it.

 _Access Superman_

Red lasers shot from Amazo's eyes, he dodged, his grappler latched onto a beam in the rafters and he swung forward, Amazo caught him by the leg and threw him down only to have him roll back up onto his feet.

 _Access Black Canary_

Robin covered his ears at the supersonic Canary cry.

 _Access Flash_

The noise disappeared. Kid Flash crashed into Red Kite. Red Kite pushed him off and jumped back into the fight, using Amazo as a springboard, landing a few feet away. The explosives she'd placed exploded, blasting Amazo back. Of course, it didn't hurt Amazo any, but it distracted him. And that was all Robin needed.

He bolted forward, placing an EMP on the temporarily fallen robot. Superboy crashed through the roof, slamming down on the robot, then melted it's head off.

There was a shout from behind them, and he turned to see Red Kite standing over the man with her sword at his throat.

* * *

Once in the warehouse, Red Kite immediately went for the man. All to well she knew him to be Jonah Gren. He was Drage's right hand man, or rather crony. He was neck deep in more illegal activity than half the people of Gotham, and that was saying something.

"Why hello-" Her greeting was bounding forward and shoulder slamming him into the wall, but before she could add the second part of her greeting she was forced to duck a flying disc, slicing through the next one. Unfortunately for Gren the delay only held her a few seconds, taking out the disks was easy, she just had to do it before they exploded. She was about to go after Gren once more but was distracted by Kid Flash slamming into her.

She pushed him off aggressively, annoyed at being interrupted..

"Watch it," she spat.

"Sorry for getting thrown by a freakin' robot," he shot back.

She jumped back in, then using Amazo as a springboard and placing explosives on him. She knew it was the distraction Robin needed and it gave her the chance to continue her 'talk' with Gren.

"Trying to escape?" she hissed, holding her sword to his throat. "Where's your boss?" she growled. "Where's Drage?"

She really wanted to kill him, but shoved down that impulse. She couldn't lose it. Not here, not now, and especially not in present company. Said company, Robin, Superboy and Kid Flash, ran up. She glanced at Robin, talking to him with her eyes and body language. He gave her a slight nod. Superboy and Kid Flash looked at both of them uncertainly.

She sheathed her sword, Gren sighed in relief, relief that was short lived. She slammed him up against the wall. Kid Flash and Superboy started forward, but Robin stopped them.

"Where is Drage?" she snarled.

"You don't scare me," he sneered.

She smirked. "Your mistake." She pressed his face against the wall, twisting his arm behind his back painfully. "I'm going to give you to the count of three. One...two...three." There was a loud 'pop' and Gren screamed.

"Red Kite!" Kid Flash exclaimed. Robin shushed him, placing a hand on his arm.

She popped Gren's arm back into place. "Now that was step one, making you scream, your next scream will be cut off...permanently."

"Y-you heroes don't kill," he panted. "Everyone knows that."

"Who said I was a hero?" she hissed in his ear. "I'm new to this business, but I was trained by one of the best assassins in the world. I bet you've heard the name Strike?" She felt him shudder. "Now, you can tell me where Drage is, or I can break every bone in your body, including your neck. Lastly of course." No one else could hear this, not even Superboy.

Sweat trickled down his face.

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Back down Red Kite, don't kill him. Yet." She dropped Gren on the ground.

"I swear I don't know where he is!" Gren said.

Robin squatted down, looking him in the eye. "Well I'm sorry to hear that. See, my friend here doesn't like human-traffickers, and I'm not sure how much longer I can restrain her," he said in an almost conversational tone.

Gren paled. "A deal! Drage is gonna do a deal with someone in Gotham. I swear that's all I know!"

Robin nodded. "Thanks. I think I may be able to convince my friend to let you live." He knocked Gren out with a sharp jab to the neck.

"What the hell was that?!" Kid Flash asked.

Red Kite smirked. "The oldest trick in the book. Good-cop bad-cop. Drake doesn't treat any of his men to good, that was only the newest of his second-ins." She started laughing. "Did you see his face? Priceless! He actually thought I was gonna kill him. Ha!"

"And you weren't," Superboy said.

She glanced at him. "Uh, no, duh."

Robin shrugged. "I must say, I'm surprised that worked."

Kid Flash and Superboy still seemed wary at Red Kite's brutality, but were a little more at ease.

"We got some good info," she remarked. "Now let's pass these guys off to the police and finish up."

Wonder girl and Blue Beatle and Cyborg came in, carrying five unconscious and tied up guys. "Sorry, we ran into some trouble," Wonder girl said.

"Yeah, these guys attacked us, they were on some sort of drug," Blue Beatle said. "Really? I didn't know. Yes I know they were. Oh shut up."

Red Kite looked up at Blue uncertainly, but the others seemed to think it was normal for him to randomly start talking to himself. She brushed it off and examined the men. Or more specifically, the tubes that were connected to them.

She glanced at Robin, not showing her alarm. "Is this what I think it is?"

Robin looked at her grimly. "I think so."

"What?" Cyborg asked.

She looked at the unconscious men grimly. Both her and Robin answered at the same time. "Venom."

She looked at Robin. "Things just got a whole lot more complicated."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys, I realized when I was trying to post the seventh chapter that I had actually skipped a chapter! I posted 7 as 6 and you were probably really confused and I'm SO SO SO SORRY! AAAHH! When I found out I totally flipped I'm so sorry. Anyway, this is the real 6, chapters 7 and 8 will be up today. Again I'm really sorry for the confusion!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** **Opportunity**

A week later, they still had no lead on the venom connection. Scarlet's less than normal life continued. The Titans seemed to trust her more now, which was good. She didn't trust them, not by a long shot, but that wasn't gonna happen for a long while, if ever. Probably the latter.

All Scarlet wanted now was a normal day, and today seemed to be that day. Hopefully. She got up at six o'clock, went through her exercise routine, then grabbed her backpack and headed out to school.

She got there at exactly eight o'clock, thus avoiding having to talk to anyone, then sat down at her desk and pulled out a math test she'd almost finished the night before, but had fallen asleep.

She felt something flick the back of her head. She glanced behind her. One of the boys in her class, Logan or something, sniggered. She rolled her eyes, returning to her test. A moment later, something else hit her head. She closed her eyes a moment, then continued her test. Only seconds later, she got hit again.

She threw an eraser over her shoulder, not having to look to know it hit it's target.

"Ow!"

She smirked but didn't look back. She could feel his pitiful glare on her and ignored it.

 _Sorry kid, I face the batglare every night. Your glare, is pathetic._

She couldn't help the satisfied smirk on her face.

* * *

She was just leaving her last class, when the teacher called her up to his desk.

"Ms. Madison."

"Yes sir?" she asked in a questioning tone.

"Your grades have been excellent," he said.

"Thank you," she said uncertainly.

"And your record is spotless."

"Yes…"

He handed her an envelope with a smile. She took it. It was addressed to Kara Madison. She looked at him, he nodded encouragement.

She opened the envelope, but was barely short of shocked by the contents.

 _To Miss Kara Madison,_

 _You have been accepted to Gotham Academy on a full Wayne Scholarship for your performance in math, gymnastics, and swimming._

 _You will be provided with all the supplies needed for school. Including a uniform, books, and a lunch card. Please respond to the Headmaster by the date of August 14nth._

 _Sincerely, Headmaster Jason Rame._

"Miss Madison?"

She snapped up. "I-I don't know what to say."

"You deserve it," he said. "If your parents agree, this could be the chance of a lifetime."

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Don't thank me, you did all the work."

She nodded. "I'll talk to my parents," she said for good measure.

She hurried out, her mind focused on the invitation. This could either be amazing, or horrible. But she was pretty sure she knew who was responsible for it. She couldn't believe he found out her ID. Already! She shook her head to clear it. She'd decide, just not right now.

* * *

That night Red Kite met Batman on patrol. As Batman observed movements on the docks through binoculars, she asked the question on her mind.

"Where's Robin?" she asked.

"He's not here."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks Captain Obvious. I meant, why is he not here?"

"Homework."

She nodded slightly. They met on the top of a roof. "Speaking of which, how'd you find out my alias-no, stupid question. Why'd you give me the scholarship?"

He barely spared her a glance. "You earned it. Besides, you could use it."

"I'm not some charity case," she snapped. "I'm doing fine on my own."

"Living in the rafters of an abandoned warehouse isn't what I would call fine," he said dryly.

"I'm doing fine. I have a job," she grumbled

"Indeed. On Wednesdays and Fridays from eight to eleven at the Ice Burg Lounge where you use a fake I.D. and put on makeup to make it seem like you're twenty-one, which doesn't really work by the way. And then on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a fast-food joint from two a.m. to four a.m. You get barely two hours of sleep every night," he rattled off.

"I take naps during the day, sometimes," she grumbled. "And are you monitoring me?"

"No."

"Then-" He abruptly jumped off the roof, signaling the end of that conversation. She blew out a puff of air in annoyance and followed. She'd gotten good at working with both Batman and Robin without having to speak.

She dropped down on someone with a gun, hitting another one with said gun while dodging gunfire.

"You guys make this way to easy," she said. "Oh look out, oops, sorry about your broken nose." She knocked out another gunman with a spinning kick, dodging one guy, allowing him to slam into another one, using his back as a springboard and doing a backward handspring to land on another guy.

That said, it only took a few minutes to subdue the rest of the men. They retreated to the rooftops as Batman had already called the police.

"Back to our conversation," she prompted, crossing her arms expectantly.

"Gotham Academy will be a good switch, and getting to know Robin will allow trust to build," Batman answered evenly. She raised an eyebrow. "You do want him to trust you right?"

She looked away. "So you told him my identity?"

"He figured that out on his own," Batman replied in an obvious kind of tone.

"Why do you want him to trust me so much?" she asked.

"Trust in a team is essential, without trust there is no loyalty, and without loyalty the team will ultimately fail and most like result in either serious injury or death," Batman said.

She bit her lip, taking in the double meaning. "Do you think he will?"

Batman nodded. "With time, yes."

"Do _you_ trust me?" she asked.

"Depends on what it is," he said.

"Say I didn't know your ID, would you trust me with it?" she asked.

"Maybe. But seeing as you know it, it's a pointless question."

She rolled her eyes. "Just tell me. Even knowing my…past," she started carefully. "Do you trust me."

He studied her for a brief moment. "I have intel on a drug tradeoff on Saturday night at the docks. Be there. Right now, go home and get some sleep. You need it."

Then he was gone, disappearing into the night. She stood there for a few moments, contemplating his words. Trust was a fundamental part of every person, but it was something she had never been good at having or earning.

And if she knew anything, it was that it _always_ came with a price.

* * *

Dick sat at the Batcave computer, doing some research on the new human-trafficking issue. He was pretty sure it was based in Mali, but couldn't be positive. They might have to do a recon mission. Maybe he'd pull the team in for it.

Batman drove up in the Batmobile. Getting out and heading over to the changing room without a word.

"Long night?" he asked. Batman came out, Bruce once more.

"Fine."

"Sooo that was just you being your normal broody self?" he asked.

Bruce grunted, wrapping up what little injuries he had.

"And I take that as a yes." He turned back to the info he'd collected. "Stop it," he said suddenly, turning back to his mentor.

"What?" Bruce asked.

He rolled his eyes. "You're analyzing me."

Bruce smiled. Well, his lips turned up slightly, Bruce's equivalent of a smile.

"You don't like her," Bruce remarked. It wasn't a question, it was a statement from someone who knew Dick quite well.

"Who?" he asked, though he already knew exactly 'who'.

"Red Kite."

"I don't trust her," he said. "Or like her much," he added as an afterthought.

"And you're upset that I didn't tell you first," Bruce said.

"Would you quit it with the analyzing?" he snapped.

"I wanted you to get your own first impression," Bruce explained. Explained? Since when did Bruce explain? Bruce or Batman?

After a moment, he turned to face his mentor. "She's brutal. Really brutal. Like, you in a mood kind of brutal."

Bruce nodded. "As expected."

"I want to know who trained her," he said. "It doesn't say on her file."

Bruce looked him in the eye. "Her parents are ex-FBI agents."

He studied Bruce for a moment. "Fine. Don't tell me." He turned back to the computer. "I'll find out on my own."

* * *

A few day later, Scarlet had made her decision. She was going to Gotham Academy. It would make things a lot easier. She didn't have to spend money on books and supplies anymore. She might even be able to get an apartment soon.

August 14 was only a week and a half away after all.

Her comm beeped. It was the comm connected to Batman and Robin. She'd disabled the tracker.

"Red Kite."

 _"_ _Titan's meeting. We have a mission."_

"Be there in five. Red Kite out."

 _"_ _Robin out."_

She quickly suited up. Before teleporting to the tower, she left her safe house and went a good ways away, so she wouldn't be traced when she teleported. She pressed the black button on a small black remote-like thing. It was directly linked to the tower teleporter.

When the light faded, she was in the tower. It took her less than a minute to get to the briefing room. Everyone but Wonder girl was already there.

"Where's Cassie?" she asked.

"Wonder girl can't come," Robin answered. "Something about family."

"Ah."

Robin got down to business immediately. "Our mission is in Florida. A large amount of human trafficking is coming out of there." She tensed. "The traffickers are supposedly led by Grant Drage."

She froze, the name hitting her like a bullet. _I'm gonna find him. I can actually find him._ She smirked. _Maybe joining this team wasn't such a bad idea after all._

She turned back to Robin, tuning back in.

"Though we don't know if he's actually going to be there. It's a high chance that his new second-in will be there."

"Are we going to fly there?" Kid Flash asked.

Robin nodded. "We'll probably get there around eight p.m."

They headed to the hanger, loading into the jet. Robin piloted, Superboy was co-pilot. Unfortunately, Red Kite had not yet gained their trust enough for them to let her fly co-pilot.

All well. Maybe if she survived Kid Flash's chattering she could next time.

* * *

Like Robin estimated, they arrived in Florida at around eight o'clock. Scarlet was out of the jet before it had even touched down.

"Crap that was a long flight," she said, stretching. "Ugh." The rest of the team got out in a more dignified fashion.

"So what's first?" she asked. Robin shot her an exasperated look. She shrugged. "What?"

"This is a recon mission-" he touched a button on his wrist, the jet turned invisible.

"Cool."

"-There are three different places we've been able to narrow it down to. The docks in Freeport. four of the warehouses are owned by a Josh Kane, one of Drage's known alias, Marsh Harbor, warehouse owned by Franklin Arden, and a privately owned ranch near the Wildlife Management Area. Beta squad is Blue Beatle and Kid Flash, you'll be investigating the Free port lead, Delta is Superboy and Cyborg, you're on Marsh Harbor. Red Kite and I are Alpha, we're on the ranch. Maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary."

The Titans did as told, and Red Kite was left with the Boy Wonder.

"So why did you assign me on a team with you," she asked. He simply touched a button on his wrist, a bike zoomed out of the jet. She, likewise, got her own bike.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" she asked.

After a moment of silence, Robin finally answered. "I trust Batman."

"But you don't trust me," she pointed out. He was silent. "That's fine. It's logical. I'm new, but you can give me a chance," she said.

"I was taught to never trust anyone," he said finally.

She shot him a glare, zooming ahead and tossing a final sentence back.

"So was I."

* * *

 _"_ _So was I."_

Robin pondered those three simple words. It could have several different meanings. It could be a threat, a warning, a statement, it just depended. On her. It seemed like a lot of things nowadays depended on her.

"Batman told me about the League meeting," he remarked.

Red Kite glanced over. "Oh? And what'd you think?"

"I think it's impressive that you know so many languages, and that you used them to avoid the lasso's power."

She chuckled slightly. "You shoulda seen Wonder Woman's face. That was funny."

"You do know that the League hates you," Robin pointed out.

Red Kite shrugged. "Who cares? 'sides, I think Wonder Woman may have been impressed."

"So do you have all their ID's too?" he asked. "Carefully filed away for future use?"

Red Kite snickered. "Yeah, I didn't tell them that though."

"Who would?"

She glanced at him. "So have you decided to give me a chance?" she asked.

He gave a slight nod. "But this isn't baseball. It's one strike and you're out."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said thoughtfully.

"I found out your ID," he remarked.

A funny look ghosted across her face, but disappeared so fast that he wondered if he'd seen it at all.

"I know," she said. "Bats told me. Of course it didn't really surprise me."

"Kara Madison," he said aloud. "Interesting name. What I need to find out now, is wether it's real or not." He could see her tense. "It's probable that it's an alias. After all, there was no transport records for anyone by the name of Kara Madison that would be your age in the past few years, to or from Gotham."

"Can't get everything perfect," she said nonchalantly.

His voice suddenly became cold. "I'm telling you now, as a warning, if you betray us, you will regret it more than anything in your life." He paused, than added as an afterthought, "I'll find out your secrets. Eventually."

Her eyes darkened. "You may not like what you find."

They left their bikes on the edge of the property, camouflaging them. At the moment, they were crossing the enemy's corn field.

"I don't like this," Red Kite murmured. "It's to closed in, I can't see anything, and I don't like relying on infrared."

"I agree," Robin said. "But we'll be less likely to run into anyone. At least without hearing it first."

"What about arial?"

"It's too tall and dense," he said simply. He touched a few buttons on his glove and a hologram of, presumably where they were, popped up.

"So what exactly do we expect to find here?" she asked. He didn't look up from the hologram.

"This place utilizes a lot of electricity, most of it centering on this place." He pointed to a little red blinking dot. "It's a barn/lodging for the employees, supposedly."

"How do we get in?" she asked.

"There's a backdoor entrance, but the security is pretty good," Robin replied.

She smirked. "That won't be a problem."

"You good with tech?" he questioned.

She shrugged. "Yeah. My tech is some of the best in the world."

"I'll take your word for it," he replied. She looked at him in surprise, opening her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"Shh, we're here." They exited the corn field, crawling up to the crest of a hill that overlooked the barn. Several trucks were out front, they were unloading straw bales. Or at least what appeared to be straw. They were unloading the last of it.

"Can you get a wireless connection?" he murmured.

She nodded, typing in a few commands on her own glove computer. A moment later, a red warning label popped up. She bit back a growl.

"Damn it." Robin looked at her. "I can't do it without risking detection from here. But once inside, I can plug in and hack it."

"Then we'll just have to get closer," Robin said. "We'll have to wait until the trucks leave."

"I bet we can sneak in, it's almost dark," she said.

"And the trucks will probably be gone by dark," Robin said, sounding irritated.

She rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see it under the mask. "Fine fine, point taken."

About thirty minutes later, the trucks were gone and a sliver of a moon shown in the sky. Robin tapped a button on his mask to switch on his infrared. He spotted two men on the 'barn' rooftop, and three more on the ground. He turned on the night vision, giving a short nod to Red Kite, who returned the gesture. No words were needed. Robin moved swiftly and silently. He hated being in such an open area, but it was unavoidable.

They slipped through the side door quietly, successfully avoiding detection. They hid behind a crate as two men came by, chatting idly.

"I don't see why the boss has us patrolling this place, the security's supposed to do that," one said.

"Well you can question him if you want, but not me, I'd like to keep my head," the other replied. "You seen those scars he's got?" He shuddered. "Ugh."

"I heard that he was targeted by one of the best assassins in the world."

"Who?"

"Deathstroke. No one knows why though, or if there is any particular reason." The conversation turned to unconcerning things as the voices faded.

He looked at Red Kite to see a grim smirk on her face. Honestly, she sometimes scared him. She was sometimes too brutal, it made him wonder about her past. But there was something undeniably familiar about her. He sensed that her lighthearted demeanor was simply a mask, a facade, shielding the true Red Kite, or whoever she really was.

They came to a metal door. They looked at each other.

 _This is what we're looking for._

Red Kite plugged her wrist computer into the key-pad that popped up. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, assessing her hacking skills. He had to admit, she was pretty good.

"It was Strike not DS," she muttered. He didn't know what that meant, but didn't have time to question it. He turned on his infrared.

"Two guards coming around the side, ETA twenty seconds."

She pursed her lips. "Come on, come on. Yes!" The door opened soundlessly and they slipped inside, the door closing softly behind them. They were confronted by a narrow stair well, leading down.

He sensed that any words would echo. Red Kite pointed to the metal grate above them. The following conversation went something like this:

Red Kite: _Air vent, could be our best bet_

Robin: _No, it makes to much noise_

Red Kite: _I'm willing to bet we can make it work_

Robin (glaring): _No_

Footsteps sounded. Red Kite glanced at him, he grimaced, but held out his hands. She placed a booted foot in them and unscrewed the grating in a matter of seconds. She pulled herself up, then pulled him up after her, replacing the grate.

A man past, exiting through the door.

 _To close._

They crawled through the vents as quietly as possible. Red Kite tapped him on the shoulder, he turned. She pointed to a place in the map she'd downloaded, it was labeled 'merchandise'. She nodded grimly, confirming his thoughts.

Robin and Red Kite headed for it. They didn't have a definite plan for getting anyone out. This was supposed to be a covert op.

They came upon the room. He bit back an angry snarl. Children from five to fifteen were huddled in the corner of the room. Maybe sixteen in all. He glanced at Red Kite. Her face was focused on the kids, holding an infinite amount of pure rage.

He placed a hand on her arm, she jerked slightly, looking at him. He squeezed her arm slightly, giving her a reassuring nod. She took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes again, her face became impassive.

He gave a little nod, turning back to the scene before them. Two men stood by the door, guns resting in their hands. Red Kite gave him a slightly questioning look.

He typed something into his wrist computer, holding it up for her to see.

 _We need to contact Beta and Delta. Then make our move._

She typed something in.

 _They might be gone by then._

Robin: _It's a risk we'll have to take._

She scowled. _One I'm not going to take._

Before he could say or do anything, she dropped down, taking out the guards with swift cold precision. He followed her, grumbling under his breath.

"Not the smartest move Red."

* * *

Red Kite dropped down, taking out the guards quickly, Robin followed.

"Not the smartest move Red," he muttered.

"If you were me, you'd understand," she hissed.

The kids in the corner looked at them, hope shining in their eyes. She placed a finger to her lips. They all understood the universal gesture. She drew her sword, breaking the chains with ease.

"Follow us," she said softly. "But keep quiet." She knew she could make things a lot easier, but didn't. She didn't want to use them. Not here, not now, not ever. Not after what happened in Bermuda.

She typed a few commands into her wrist computer, opening the door through the hacked mainframe. They hurried up the halls, taking out any surprised guards along the way and finally coming up and out of the underground facility. Kid Flash zoomed up, Cyborg and Superboy crashed through the roof.

"Boy do you sure know how to make an entrance," Robin said. "You got my message."

Kid Flash snorted. "Duh."

"Alright, KF, Superboy and Cyborg get them out of here, Red Kite, Blue Beatle and I will hold off these guys," Robin commanded. "Civilians are number one priority."

They immediately obeyed. She dodged gunfire, throwing several explosives. She looked inside a blown-open crate. Her eyes widened.

"Oh shit."

Robin looked over. "What?"

She pulled out a vial of yellowish liquid. "Venom." Robin cursed.

"Alright, we'll take care of that later, right now we need to-" He was cut off by a loud explosion. She jumped up onto a crate, blocking bullets with her sword.

"Little less talking, lot more fighting," she said over the noise. Robin threw a bat-a-rang, it exploded on impact. She jumped down, slicing a gun in half and kicking another away.

"Where on earth did you get that sword?" Robin asked, clearly surprised at how good it was.

She smirked. "Who said anything about earth?"

"Look out!"

Robin's warning came to late, something slammed into her, making her hit the wall with a painful thud. She groaned, shaking her head to try and clear some of the bright spots. She looked up to see…oh crap.

She rolled out of the way of a giant fist. Four Venom-enhanced men advanced on her. Robin threw an explosive at two, drawing their attention. She flipped out of the way of another punch, back on her feet.

She weaved in and out, getting in distracting hits, aiming for pressure points. Blue Beatle blasted one of them back with a sonic blast. She needed to focus, but not tunnel vision. She jumped up onto one of their back, slashing the tubes connected to them, she jumped up onto the next one, dodging a punch that surely would have killed her.

It took them a very short time to subdue the men, and some woman. They exited the more than slightly broken building to find themselves surrounded by police cars.

Red Kite rolled her eyes, she somehow knew Robin was doing the same, their eyes met. Both threw down smoke bombs, covering their escape. Blue Beatle grabbed her around the waist while Kid Flash got Robin.

"Put me down," she ground out. "Put me down or I will cut off your arm," she threatened.

"Calm down Red," Robin said. She scowled.

"Don't call me that," she snapped. Both Robin and Red Kite were dropped near their bikes. She turned and hit the Beatle with a round-house kick to the head.

"What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed, cursing in Spanish. "Crazy chika."

She growled. "Don't ever. _Ever_. Touch me," she hissed.

"Stop Red," Robin said. "He was just trying to help."

She slid onto her bike, revved the engine and shot off down the road.

* * *

 **I really like reviews! Even if I kind of messed up (sorry) anyway, see ya next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey** **guys I'm back! Sorry about the wait, life is insane! Everything got super super busy and I totally lost it. (Not literally, that happened a long time ago) Anywho, next chappie is up and ready to be read by you lovely readers!**

 **Red Kite: Disclaimer again? Ugh. As if they don't know you don't have the skill to create characters like Batman**

 **Me: HEY!**

 **Robin: What about me?**

 **Red Kite: You're easy, just stick a black wig on any random hot underwear model and we've got you, I mean seriously, it took, like, three decades for you to lose the panties**

 **Robin: You little b****!**

 **Me: Cat fight**

 **Red Kite: You too**

 **Robin: I'm gonna-wait...did you just say I was a hot model?**

 **Red Kite: What?! N-no that is so not what I me-**

 **Robin: You so did! And here I was beginning to think your eye-sight wasn't good enough for those gorgeous blue orbs**

 **Me: Damn, you two don't even need my help to flirt**

 **Red Kite *blushing*: Can we just get on with the disclaimer already?**

 **Robin: I thought you didn't want to do the disclaimer**

 **Red Kite: Ugh! Batfan doesn't own any characters but me! Ok get on without the story!**

 **Me: Ok ok. Here ya go!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** **Richard Grayson**

After KF told them that they'd gotten the children to safety, handing them over to the police, they headed back to the tower. Red Kite was silent the entire flight and ignored every one of the others and their irritating questions. She didn't need that right now. The moment they reached the tower she teleported back to Gotham without even saying goodbye.

Back in the relative safety of the warehouse, she changed into comfortable sweats and a tee-shirt and tried to relax. She needed to relax, she could feel her heart rate speeding up. Thank God she didn't work on Saturday. It was already one a.m. She'd trained herself to sleep in pretty much any position. Tonight, she slept leaning against the wall, one leg hanging over the beam, the other stretched out. She then closed her eyes and tried to block out the world.

* * *

 _She knelt in the Gotham Cemetery, gazing at the three gravestones. Dry-eyed and expressionless. She'd asked for a few minutes alone, before the police took her to an orphan home or something._

" _I'm sorry," she whispered, tears falling, unbidden. "I'm so, so, sorry. I should have warned_ _you, I should have saved you."_

 _Mom, Dad, James...all dead. All gone. Because of her._

 _She closed her eyes. Slowly taking in shaky breaths, she climbed to her feet, scrubbing away the_

 _tears._ " _I promise I'll set this right. I'll find the people who did this to you," she whispered, fire burning in her young_

 _eyes. "I promise."_

 _She stood, turning. She bit back a scream at the sight of the tall man, he had a gun trained on_ _her. He shoved a cloth onto her face and everything went black..._

 _..._

 _...She came to slowly. Opening her eyes to a dark, dank room. Her hands were chained to the_ _floor. The door opened and a big man walked in. She shrank back fearfully._

" _You're a special order," he said. "Someone's payin' a lot of money for you. Why I don't know,_ _but hey, as long as I get my green." He grabbed her chin roughly. "I can't see what's so special."_

 _She was little, but her baby teeth were sharp, she bit down on his hand as hard as she could._

 _He shouted, jumping back. "You're lucky I'm getting such a good price, or I'd just kill you."_

 _She tried to appear unafraid. "Bastard," she spat. "I know who you are, you were the one who_ _killed my family. I'll make you pay."_

 _He laughed nastily. "Apparently you don't understand your situation. I could snap your neck like_ _a twig. Or put a bullet in you, like your mommy and daddy and brother."_

" _You won't though. Someday I'll make you pay. I'll kill you."_

 _He laughed again. "I sincerely doubt that." She struggled weakly at the chains. "But just to_ _make sure you don't try and escape..." He threw something. She cried out in pain as a knife_ _embedded itself in her shoulder._

 _In the days that followed, only one thought in her young mind held her together, the thought that_ _some day, somehow, she would kill the man responsible for their deaths._

* * *

A few days later, Scarlet found herself in a too-short skirt in the courtyard of Gotham Academy. She took deep breath, hitching her bag higher up on her shoulders. She knew how to keep a low profile, it came with the job. She made sure to get there a few minutes early.

She sat quietly at her desk, doodling on a piece of scrap paper. A little memory popped into her mind, one of the few good ones.

" _You're a good drawer." She smiled at her friend._

" _Thanks. I'll get better."_

" _Draw a picture of Tezina," he said._

 _She proceeded to draw a picture of the siamese cat. It was pretty good, for a six year old._

She shook her head to clear it. That was a long time ago. Students filed in, one in particular caught her attention as he sat down at the desk beside her.

"New here huh?" Richard Grayson said with a wink.

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

He chuckled. "Sarcasm, I like it, _Kara_." He tried the name out, saying it once more. He pursed his lips.

"Hmm, doesn't quite suit you."

"Why the sudden interest?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

He shrugged. "You are going to my school."

"Possessive much?" She smirked.

"You have no idea."

* * *

A few hours later, Scarlet found herself walking through the halls, searching dismally for her bio class. She couldn't remember where the classroom was and the few people she'd tried asking had turned up their powdered rich-kid noses and ignored her. She paused near a trio of giggling painted dolls. The halls were almost empty, most of the teens gone to their next classes. She didn't want to talk to the brats but she was going to be late if she didn't. She sighed slightly and approached.

"Hey, do any of you know where-"

"Oh, you're the little charity case."

She blinked. "Excuse me?" She recognized the girl who'd spoken as someone from her gym class. She was a girl from one of the elite families of Gotham, also a very popular girl that got good grades, was gorgeous, and was trying to get Dick Grayson to go out with her. Her name was Donna Glade.

School gossip. Gotta love it.

"The one Bruce Wayne gave the scholarship to," Glade said. "A pity you couldn't have been prettier."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the shallowness. "Hey I'm just lookin' for my class."

Glade glared at her suddenly. "I saw you talking to Richard, let me warn you, he is my boyfriend, and no charity case is going to change that. And sorry sweetheart, but you're not good enough to be his anyway." _Oh so she feels threatened. Ha!_

She made a mockingly sorrowful face. "I would be so so offended... if I gave a fuck what you thought anyway."

Whoops, there went getting directions to her classroom.

Glade reddened. "Don't get smart with me girl-"

"I would but you'd have to have a brain to understand," she replied with a pitying look. The girl flushed. "Oh did that hurt? Maybe you should think once in a while and be more careful who you pick a fight with _sweetheart_." She walked past the glaring teen with a wave of her hand, suddenly a foot hooked around her ankle and knocked her balance out, she almost went into a handstand and did a back-kick to the bitch's face, then she realized a fifteen year old high school student wouldn't be able to do that so she mentally sighed and began to fall.

But she didn't. She looked up in slight confusion at the handsome teen that caught her.

 _Handsome? I've never noticed stuff like that before._

"Careful gorgeous."

She rolled her eyes.

Glade looked appalled. "Richard!"

She straightened up and dusted off nonexistent dirt from her mini-skirt. "Donna was just telling me that you two were dating," she said.

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry to say I wasn't informed."

Glade was crimson in embarrassment. "I-er, I didn't, you miss-heard."

She cocked an eyebrow at the very embarrassed girl. "I see." She smirked mentally and turned to Grayson. "Would you possibly give me directions to the bio classroom?" she asked. "It's my next class and I'm almost late."

"What a coincidence, bio is also my next class, I'd be happy to show you the way," he said.

She hook her arm through his and turned away from the trio. "That would be awesome." As they walked away she glanced back at the infuriated Glade and gave a devilish wink. _Next time be more careful who you mess with._

* * *

Scarlet looked over the crappy apartment room she'd managed to get for cheep and heaved a sigh. It was filthy. The windows were cracked, the wall paint was peeling off and the door rocked and creaked on its hinges. But... it was a roof over her head and the only thing she could afford, only two hundred dollars a month because it was located right next to the famous Crime Alley.

She tossed her bag on the floor and flopped down on the bed, it creaked beneath her weight and a cloud of dust came up around her. She sighed again. She rubbed her eyes wearily, they came back dusted brown. Her concealer was coming off.

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up. "Madison residence."

" _Hey Red."_

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even going to ask how you got this number Grayson," she said, too tired for irritation.

" _Probably good."_

"What exactly do you want?"

" _I was nominated to call and ask if you wanted to have Thanksgiving at the mansion."_

"Thanksgiving?"

" _Yeah."_

No way in hell. "Maybe. Who's idea is this?" she asked.

" _Alfred."_ She'd only ever heard about the butler, but she'd only heard good things. That didn't mean she was going. There was a loud bang from the room one door down. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them.

"I'll think about it, I gotta go."

" _Ok, bye."_

"Bye."

She stuck the phone in her pocket and exited her room. There were several shouts from the room next to hers. She was about to knock when it was shoved open and someone fell out onto her. She caught them on instinct as the door slammed shut again.

The person was a young boy, maybe ten or eleven. He was small and scrawny, but he had a defiant glare in his eyes. His clothes were practically rags. He had red hair and green eyes.

"You okay kid?" she asked with a voice gentler than any she'd used in months. He practically jumped out of her arms.

"I'm fine," he said angrily, wiping his bloody nose. He had a gash on his cheek that was bleeding profusely.

"Come with me," she said. "I can help you with that cut."

"I don't need your help," he practically spat, backing up.

She sighed in exasperation. "Yes you do, if it doesn't get treated than it'll get infected. I can help you, I won't hurt you."

"You know those movies where they _say_ they're not gonna hurt you...then you're dead?" he snarked. "Yeah I don't think so. Thanks but no thanks."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on."

He stared at her defiantly. She went back into her room, leaving the door open. She went into the kitchen where she kept her first-aid kit and pulled it out of the cupboard.

The kid slowly stepped in, looking around as if searching for danger, which he probably was. The things Gotham did to people.

"Sit right there," she directed, pointing to the stool. He hesitated. "Look kid, if you want that to get infected, be my guest." He glared at her but sat down.

"Why the hell are you helping me?" he asked.

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Why. Are. You. Helping. Me?" he asked it slowly, as if speaking to someone with brain damage.

She shrugged. "You need help."

"Do you know how to do that?" he asked, eyeing the first-aid kit warily.

She rolled her eyes. "Duh, my mom's a nurse."

"Where is she?" he asked, looking around.

She bit her lip. "Out. Now hold still." She wiped the dirt and blood from the cut, frowning.

"How did you get this?"

His eyes darkened. "I don't have the best father in the world if ya hadn't noticed."

"Ah." She grimaced. "You may need stitches for that. It's pretty deep. What'd you get hit with, a crowbar?"

"Do you know how to do that?" he asked again, ignoring her second question. She nodded. "Maybe we should wait for you mom."

She shook her head. "They won't be home for hours."

He got off the chair, starting to leave. "I don't need any help, I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes. "Come back here right now. Open your ears kid, that will get infected, and then I might not be able to help."

"Nobody does anyway," he muttered.

She sighed. "Come on, the stitches will hurt, I don't have any numbing stuff or anything, but it'll be better. And we both know that you won't be going to the hospital."

He sighed slightly. "Your mom isn't a nurse, is she? Do you even have a mom?"

The needle she held between her fingers snapped. "What?"

"If she was a nurse, you'd probably want to wait for her," he pointed out. "And if she was alive, this place wouldn't be so bare and ratty."

She looked around at the two pieces of moth-eaten furniture. The bedroom wasn't any better.

"Regardless, I still know how to patch you up," she said. "I've been doing it to myself for years."

She internally cursed herself for slipping up on the last sentence as she tossed the broken needle in the trash.

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Just sit down so I can help you," she said in exasperation. He slowly obeyed, obviously curious. "I'm not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt," she said.

He nodded. "That's okay."

She raised an eyebrow, but let it slide. She dabbed at the cut with antiseptic, he sucked in a sharp breath. She threaded a new needle and stitched up the cut with practiced efficiency.

"There, done."

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"You're welcome."

"You said you've been patching yourself up for years, why? Family?"

She thought back on her mentor. "Sort of."

"Is that what happened there?" He pointed to her eye. Her eyes widened. The makeup! She cursed her thoughtlessness. But she looked the kid in his green eyes nonetheless.

"Er, yeah." She bit her lip.

"How old are you?" he asked suddenly.

She looked at him in surprise. "Almost fifteen."

He frowned. "Hmm. I should probably go," he said, backing towards the door. "Bye."

"My name is Kara Madison, by the way," she said.

He called over his shoulder. "Jason Todd." He waved. She waved back as she closed the door behind him.

When silence reigned once more she wandered into the bathroom, it was as crappy as the rest of the apartment, but when she turned on the water she found it to be warm. That was a definite plus. She shut off the water and turned, then halted, gazing into the cracked mirror. She traced the scar that ran from her eyebrow to below her cheekbone. When she was out, she had it concealed with makeup, when she was fighting, her mask covered it. She was the only person alive who knew about it. Besides Deathstroke anyway.

And now this kid, Jason, had seen it. She felt a sort of connection, maybe because they both have crappy home-lives, maybe because he seemed so alone. Whatever the case, she resolved to try and help him. It wouldn't be easy, she could see the brokenness in his eyes, he was hurt in more ways than one. But she understood.

She could help.

* * *

 **And so chapter 7 meets it's finish. I'll probably be updating every Friday, but... more reviews make me update faster... PLEASE REVIEW**

 **Enjoy the weekend!**

 **P.S. I'm sorry about the update screw-up, this chapter is actually 7**


End file.
